The United Nations recommends that all states establish a national human rights institution (NHRI) to promote and protect human rights at the national level. In Norway, the Storting (Parliament) has assigned this responsibility to the Norwegian Human Rights Institution (NIM). NIM is an independent public body that is organizationally linked to the Storting. We have a main office in Oslo and a branch in Kautokeino, with approximately 26 employees.
NIM was established in 2015 under the Act on the Norwegian National Human Rights Institution. Our mandate is to promote and protect human rights in Norway in accordance with the Constitution, the Human Rights Act, international treaties, and international law in general. We work across a broad spectrum of human rights issues, ranging from freedom of expression and privacy to the rights of vulnerable groups such as asylum seekers, Indigenous peoples, children, and the elderly. While we do not handle individual cases, we contribute by providing expertise, advice, and guidance to help the state authorities and others such as municipalities to fulfil their human rights obligations as effectively as possible.
In addition to analysing and advising on proposed legislation and other public regulation, we report on the the human rights situation in Norway and offer recommendations for improvements in our annual report to the Storting. Our mission is to strengthen the implementation of human rights in Norway, which we do primarily by:
- Providing legal advice to the Storting, the Sámi Parliament, the government, and public administration
- Monitoring the status of human rights in Norway
- Teaching and promoting research on human rights
- Informing the public about human rights
- Building bridges between authorities and civil society
We also regularly report to various UN human rights committees.
NIM is led by a board and a director. The chair of the board is Trine Skei Grande, and the director is Kai Spurkland. Most of our staff are legal experts and political scientists with diverse backgrounds, including experience from Norwegian and international courts, academia, the prosecution authority, public administration, and private law firms. Some also bring experience from the foreign service, the UN and other international organizations, political work, civil society, and the media.
You can read more about our staff here.
The UN’s international network for national human rights institutions (GANHRI) ensures that national institutions comply with the requirements of independence and quality outlined in the so-called Paris Principles. In June 2017, GANHRI upgraded NIM to “A status,” which is awarded to national human rights institutions that fully meet the Paris Principles’ standards. This was repeated in 2022. In practice, this means that NIM has voting rights within the international and European network of national institutions. Additionally, we have the right to participate and speak at various UN meetings and processes related to human rights.
In 2022, GANHRI renewed NIM’s A status for another five years.